I would like your opinion on my first try at making a video. It wasn't meant to be exactly like this but the camera recorded in the wrong resolution so I went for an older aesthetic to try and not waste all the footage...

Time to work in porcelain for lights! Nice feel. You're not playing with clay are you??

Benzine I agree, early on, babies in bed, partner studying I was down in my poorly lit shed glazing and stacking the kiln. White clay body, white and subtle oatmeal glazes. Partner remarked on my speedy return, felt smug about my efficiency until opening the kiln after firing I found that I'd only dipped some of the pots into the second glaze so there was bare body where the oatmeal should have been.. Stil can't believe that I didn't at least feel the difference.interrupted sleep syndrome, so better lights in current shed.

Love the music and the throwing at the end was clear, but more light needed to get a good look at the studio. If you were to re-do it, I'd spend a bit longer filming each area so we get time to peruse. Perhaps if there was more lighting, the time factor would be less of an issue. Always interesting to see others' studios. Thanks for sharing.

You really need more light. What is the message you are trying to convey...warm and fuzzy work area or do you want to promote you work?Something you need to focus on. The forms look good but you never see anything clearly when finished. The view of the gallery is completely dark. I'd recommend better individual photo shoots of pieces with good lighting.Nice music but some explanation of what you are doing might be helpful for a shopping audience if that is the goal.The throwing sequence seems a little out of focus.Good first attempt, but has room to improve.

I don't know what good things this footage would do for you out in the world ... the music is trying to make it seem like you meant to do it that way ... but underlit, out of focus and badly exposed is hard to hide with a song!
Call it "Take One", learn from it and do it again because the ideas were excellent ... you just messed up the execution a bit.
Would love to see "Take Two". Good luck!

Think of this effort the same way you think about approaching your claywork. Make lots.... edit heavily.

This is why looking into using professionals might be the best answer .... can you afford the time away from producing claywork to take to learn to become a writer, producer, and videographer camera person? If it be comes a "hobby" and "fun" that is one thing.... but if it is for professional reasons....... yes a viodeo person costs money... but so does time away from the studio making stuff you are going to sell. Might be less expensive to hire a pro (lost revenue).

It is a little dark, I will have to think more about my lighting, filming in the day would solve that. It recorded in 640/480 resolution by mistake which is part of the problem.

The main idea was to get a feel of what it is like working in our studio in the evening. Warm and fuzzy work area was the focus of this video, more a videoblog test than a one off advertisement.

You are right Chris, I really wanted to use the footage and found the song to try work with the bad quality. I do plan on making more but this time I will have to be ruthless with the footage and learn how to shoot.

Right now ceramics and making films are more a hobby and fun than professional. I have a different job that pays the bills. I actually did a degree in computer animation but after realising I could never do it for a job I set off trying to become a potter. I hope to keep making more and will be heavy on the edits

I gave it up because it requires immense passion to work the hours that most of the people in the industry do. The work can be very tedious. I could spend 100 hours on 15-30 seconds of animation and it would still look terrible. I didn't have the drive to spend 6-10 hours a day on a computer practising. The year before university I took a ceramics course and really missed the satisfaction that it gave me. I love spending 6-10 hours a day practising ceramics and working with my hands, a mouse just isn't the same.

In the industry the people who are paying for it expect a lot for nothing and don't understand how much work it actually takes. You have very tough hours to meet deadlines and I couldn't see myself in that world being able to compete with all the talented people.

I don't think it was a complete waste of my time as I see the subjects as quite similar things. They both have very technical and art sides which is what I enjoy in life.

Loved your video if you were going for warm and fuzzy, it came through. I do think that if you re-do, you need to consider moving the camera more slowing over your work. Very slowly in fact. I want to know who you are as a potter and can't tell from the video.

I enjoyed your video. It was very artsy with an almost foreign film feel to it if that makes sense. I understand it's not a how to video even the title "Dusk" let's you know is an intimate view of your creative world. I found it almost peaceful, just a potter and their pots.

Thank you Terry and Kris, I will make sure to get some much clearer and slower footage of my pots into the next video.

Babs I enjoy spending the evening being more creative and the days more production orientated. It is a great place to relax in the evenings and has good light throughout the day. I will think off you years down the line when I am sleep deprived and remember to turn the big light on hey at least the kiln was fired right

LocationNashville, Tennessee - Where at least a few studios make something besides music.

Posted 16 May 2014 - 05:29 AM

I have to give high marks to anyone who is willing to jump into "video world", high marks for asking for a critique of first efforts, and heartwarmingly high marks on the level of feedback that you received.

Here are my suggestions for your next round(s):

Consider using a tripod. It is an investment, but you'll find that you will have more/better usable footage when it come time to edit.

Think through the story that you wish to tell...storytelling has a beginning, a middle, and an end. I was a little lost with the sequence of this video.

There is nothing wrong with incorporating still shots into a video...it is one way of showing a lot of work with 3-4 second clips, and, they are easier to time/sync with music should you choose to do so.

The intro graphic sequence is very strong/powerful/cool...you may be setting up your viewers to expect that same level of polish for the rest of the video. I wouldn't change the intro, there is a good amount of time invested in it and it works. Just like building animation, heavy video editing to get that same level of production (as the graphic intro) takes a lot of time. From my own experience, it isn't unusual to spend an hour or two of editing for every minute of video.

Consider building your audio track with a mix of commentary and music. Audacity for WIndows and Garageband for Mac are fairly easy (and free) to learn and might be all you need to add another level of professionalism...yeah, I know, it is one more thing that would keep you away from clay...'just a suggestion.

If your not trying to promote a particular potters work and it's more of an artsy piece then I think you are on the right track. Like the others said a little slower and a tad more light should do it. Denice

Here's a second recommendation for the public domain program Audacity for sound work. I've been using it for years for some (now hobby) sound editing.

I had a serious professional music background very, very early in my life (playing as a pro in clubs at 13....with licquor commission waivers). These days Audacity lets me do stuff sitting at my computer that I would have killed for in the 60's and that we couldn't even do back then in recording studios in NYC.

It is an amazing piece of FREE software.

And to build on another of Paul's comments....... maybe storyboard the production and plan the shot list you need to accomplish that. Sort of like sketching for making pots.

from a marketing guy's perspective I would say answer," what do you want to do/show with the video?" Is this a branding piece? if so, does it capture who you are?

I woudl say slow down...showing less in more detail may not be less overall.

From a lighting guy's perspective I would say you need more light. If you can work in that level great, but for people to read what is going on there I would say you need more light and don't forget the vertical surfaces. Our eyes are at the front of our face for a reason. A well lit vertical surface will read well and make the space feel bigger and more comfortable.